"CPU is Unworkable' error on ABIT TH7-II/1.8A

DapperDpm

Member
May 6, 2001
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I just installed a brand new system with 1.8A Pentium on an ABIT TH7II motherboard. Every time i switch on or restart the computer it says that the "CPU is Unworkable or has been changed. Please recheck - CPU SOFT MENU - Press F1 to continue or Del to enter setup. I went ahead and upgraded to the Bios 38 Version and i keep on getter the same message again. Does anyone know how to fix this?

The SoftMenu III has the following info

Cpu Internal Frequency 1818MHZ
CPU Operating Speed 800(100)
External Clock(CPU/PCI) 100MHz/ 33.33MHz
Multiplier Factor x8
AGPCLK/CPUCLK(AGP Clock) 2/3 (66.66MHz)
Speed Error Hold (disabled)

CPU Power Supply CPU Default
Core Voltage 1.5v

RDRAM Bus freq Auto
Differenttial Currect 6x


====System Specs---------
1.8A on an Abit TH7-II
512MB of Samsung RDRAM (single Sided)
ATI Radeon 8500
Lite-on 16x DVD
Plextor 24x
Audigy Platinum EX
Western Digital 100gig (8mb buffer)
Klipsch Promedia 5.1
 

LarryJoe

Platinum Member
Oct 22, 1999
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Try manually setting it up. Get rid of that 800(100) and set it to what it should read.
 

Poof

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2000
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Multiplier Factor x8

If anything, the above value IS a problem. The multiplier on the 1.8a should be 18 not "8". So then 18 x 100 (FSB) = 1.8GHz.

[EDIT: Is that what you get with "auto"?]
 

LarryJoe

Platinum Member
Oct 22, 1999
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I'll answer for him cause I have the same board. Yes, the auto default settings give exactly what he has up top.
 

Poof

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2000
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Yikes. That's scary. I head about issues with the Abit boards, considering how good they've been in the past (I have a BE6-2). But that's a shame. :(
 

LarryJoe

Platinum Member
Oct 22, 1999
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I don't understand what you think is a shame? He needs to set his CPU up. The multiplier really doesn't matter though.

I also should mention that this is probably not going to solve the "CPU Unworkable" error. I have seen this on the Abit boards and you most likely will need a new bios chip.

 

Poof

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2000
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I don't understand what you think is a shame? He needs to set his CPU up. The multiplier really doesn't matter though.

Okay - I am not a mobo novice but am a novice with the P4 mobos (I have an Asus w/845i chipset + P4 1.6a that I will be putting together hopefully this evening if my PS comes in), but are they no longer auto-sensing the multipliers in P4s? You're telling me that all this needs to be done manually now or is this some quirk with the new Abit mobos? ;)

Just curious before I put my system together. The multipliers on Intel CPUs are locked so I would think that this WOULD make a difference...
 

LarryJoe

Platinum Member
Oct 22, 1999
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I hear ya. I was kind of surprised to see my first boot reference a multiplier of 8X when it should have been 20X as well as the 800(100) to go along with it. I don't know if this is Abit or the P4. I will say that this was just in the BIOS. My chip booted as a P4 2.0, regardless of the bios settings.

I weighed out the RDRAM vs. DDR dilema, and came to the conclusion from my research that I had to have RDRAM because I wanted the fastest system possible. This left me with very few i850 choices for good overclocking mobo's. It really was between the Abit TH7II-RAID and the Asus P4TE. The P4TE offered no RAID though as I needed the additional two IDE chains for all my hard drives.

I am extremely pleased with the TH7II-RAID. Very stable and a great overclocking board. Fixed PCI and AGP bus speeds is the balls.

Good luck with your build.

LJ

 

Poof

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2000
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Well... we'll see how it goes. I had considered the RDRAM system as well, but since I have an Epox board with DDR, I figured it would be good to have the ability to swap RAM back and forth if I need to. :)

I want to compare this setup with my XP 1900 that I have running 1600@1704. Gosh... this hobby is something else. :p

I blame YOU GUYS for this obsession!!!!!!!!!!!!! :p :p :p
 

LarryJoe

Platinum Member
Oct 22, 1999
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LOL! I used to think that I would get bored and move on to something else like I did with the mountain biking and home theatre obsessions. That was 6 years ago.

Good luck again, the DDR decision makes sense.

LJ
 

Poof

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2000
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I used to think that I would get bored and move on to something else like I did with the mountain biking and home theatre obsessions. That was 6 years ago.

Well for me, the HT upgrades never end (well... actually... I think I'm about there ;))... and neither do the saltwater reef tanks and.... :Q :p :D
 

DapperDpm

Member
May 6, 2001
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Hey all. I finally got rid of the annoying error after I manually set the CPU Operating Speed from 800(100) to 1800 and The solution was simpler than i had expected.. :) thanks for Tip